Unusual Speakers for the rich and famous

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shadyJ

Speaker of the House
Staff member
Some very interesting speakers from this manufacturer:

The Robb reports says prices range from $36K to $450K..
All of their systems look abysmal. Just terrible design decisions for home audio. The speakers might be OK for a PA system in the 1960s. There is so much wrong there.
 
Pogre

Pogre

Audioholic Slumlord
Those arrays will result in some very heavy comb-filtering. Those speakers are bound to measure very poorly.
Any clue of the concept behind those big ugly cast iron "Ironics"? I think the iron has a lot of, or a certain kind of carbon in it or something to reduce vibration, but why that design? It just looks... kinda ugly. You think its just an attempt at being artsy or could there be some acoustic reason (whether real or pseudo) for all those circles and bowls? I thought maybe they somehow contributed by vibrating like drivers til I read they were cast iron. As it is it just looks like a big open baffle woofer with a big ass ribbon.

Screenshot_2021-04-23-14-35-32_copy_776x507.png
 
Eppie

Eppie

Audioholic Ninja
Any clue of the concept behind those big ugly cast iron "Ironics"? I think the iron has a lot of, or a certain kind of carbon in it or something to reduce vibration, but why that design? It just looks... kinda ugly. You think its just an attempt at being artsy or could there be some acoustic reason (whether real or pseudo) for all those circles and bowls? I thought maybe they somehow contributed by vibrating like drivers til I read they were cast iron. As it is it just looks like a big open baffle woofer with a big ass ribbon.

View attachment 46976
My vote is for artsy but even in that respect they fail.
 
Pogre

Pogre

Audioholic Slumlord
Now here's something I wouldn't mind having.

Screenshot_2021-04-23-15-42-24-1_copy_458x686.png
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Two 21" drivers, 6000 watts. Sealed design. 462 lbs. And for $100K you can own it. They're actually modular and they do sell them as single downfiring versions too. The drivers are machined from aircraft-grade billet aluminum and only weigh 14.5 oz. This thing looks like a beast, tho specs are kinda vague. "Truly full output (-0 dB), even anechoically, to below 20 Hz. Usable output extends below 15 Hz". With two 21" drivers and gobs of power I can believe it'll hit at least 20 hz without much trouble.
 
Mark E. Long

Mark E. Long

Audioholic General
Now here's something I wouldn't mind having.

View attachment 46977View attachment 46978


Two 21" drivers, 6000 watts. Sealed design. 462 lbs. And for $100K you can own it. They're actually modular and they do sell them as single downfiring versions too. The drivers are machined from aircraft-grade billet aluminum and only weigh 14.5 oz. This thing looks like a beast, tho specs are kinda vague. "Truly full output (-0 dB), even anechoically, to below 20 Hz. Usable output extends below 15 Hz". With two 21" drivers and gobs of power I can believe it'll hit at least 20 hz without much trouble.
Kind of look similar to a push - pull configuration one in phase one out fireing at the same time although these are a little far apart for that concept to work . Jbl experimented with this idea in the 90’s in tall towers vented out the top . I’ll bet these bad boys would move stuff around your living room !
 
S

shadyJ

Speaker of the House
Staff member
Any clue of the concept behind those big ugly cast iron "Ironics"? I think the iron has a lot of, or a certain kind of carbon in it or something to reduce vibration, but why that design? It just looks... kinda ugly. You think its just an attempt at being artsy or could there be some acoustic reason (whether real or pseudo) for all those circles and bowls? I thought maybe they somehow contributed by vibrating like drivers til I read they were cast iron. As it is it just looks like a big open baffle woofer with a big ass ribbon.

View attachment 46976
All of those bowl shapes look to be merely cosmetic effects. They won't do anything except give the speaker a very strange baffle diffraction profile. I doubt even the manufacturer would make any claims for acoustic advantages of that kind of baffle, except maybe the iron makes it more inert than woods.
 
Kingnoob

Kingnoob

Audioholic Samurai
 
Eppie

Eppie

Audioholic Ninja
Tune Audio Anima. Even the down-firing woofer is a horn. Rated sensitivity 109dB!
 
Pogre

Pogre

Audioholic Slumlord
Tune Audio Anima. Even the down-firing woofer is a horn. Rated sensitivity 109dB!
I'm becoming super leary about those speakers with Dr Seuss horns poking out all over the place.

2 observations. Very impressive sensitivity but I'll bet you won't find a single measurement, and notice anything in common among the listeners? Reminds me of the recent AH article about embracing the science...
 
Eppie

Eppie

Audioholic Ninja
I'm becoming super leary about those speakers with Dr Seuss horns poking out all over the place.

2 observations. Very impressive sensitivity but I'll bet you won't find a single measurement, and notice anything in common among the listeners? Reminds me of the recent AH article about embracing the science...
But.. but... there are a bunch of old guys listening in awe!!!! o_O
 
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S

shadyJ

Speaker of the House
Staff member
I'm becoming super leary about those speakers with Dr Seuss horns poking out all over the place.

2 observations. Very impressive sensitivity but I'll bet you won't find a single measurement, and notice anything in common among the listeners? Reminds me of the recent AH article about embracing the science...
You are right to be leery. A lot of those speakers are determining the horn shape according to ancient horn theory, and waveguide science has come so far since then. I doubt very much that those horns are using any science from the last 40 years. I have heard systems like those, and they can sound OK, but they can be a bit shouty and I might attribute that to diffraction from the mouth and throat of the horn. These speakers are not using state-of-the-art horn geometry despite being hugely expensive.
 
Eppie

Eppie

Audioholic Ninja
For Mr. Subwoofage :D a video by Mark on HiFi, and yes some of those designs are crazy. Never seen the fan subwoofer before. Some curious designs. The practical one is the Paradigm Signature series but still big bucks.
 
John Parks

John Parks

Audioholic Samurai
I would really like to hear these...
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Speaking of B&O, these, though not priced at the "rich and famous" level, they look very interesting!
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